Jimmy0010’s Weblog

Right, so this is my first post from the MacBook Air. This things begs to be written on, like an over-enthusiastic child. “Come on! Please do a blog from me! It’ll be fun… you could do it from an airplane if you wanted, or the dark! Or anywhere where weight is restricted…Im just that light!”

Buying this, was the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought. It gave me quite a thrill typing in my PIN, the amount on the display showing £1,199, I can see quite easily how people get themselves head and shoulders into debt, if only for the thrill of making the transaction. 

Taking it home on the train, I was convinced I was gonna get mugged. I presumed Apple would give me the box in a generic, non-descript, white bag; but they decided a very expensive-looking, matt-black, far from generic, MacBook Air plastered carrier would be more suitable. Me being not the most surly of guardians, a smash-and-grab would of been childs-play. http://Jimmy0010.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/p1010037.jpg

People criticize the fact that apple spend a lot of time designing the packaging their products come in, I think its genius. Unpacking my MacBook, it was more like the box of an expensive set of jewelry, or artisan bath-salts, if such things exist; giving the consumer, me, a sense of importance; generating a positive and exciting experience from the moment I peeled back the cellophane. Apple stack aesthetics and their quest to be unique, high on their list of important factors, and reflecting that in the packaging is a fantastic idea; why not portray the whole ethos of your company in the boxes you use? 

When you buy a Dell computer, and I’ve bought several, the box it comes in is a brown, clumsy, uninteresting affair, with polytene and stryrofoam littering the room, as you unbox the equaly uninspired device inside; and although many will see the box something comes in as unimportant, I see at more as a taster of what you’re gonna get in the long run.  With Apple you get a sleek, perfectly designed, aesthetically pleasing and minimalist container, reflecting the computer and OS itself. With say, a Dell, and I’m only using Dell because I’ve owned Dell, you get an over-packaged, clumsy, ugly thing, that only just about does the job, with components often missing or difficult to assemble; again reflecting the experiences you can expect from a Dell and Windows OS. 

I defy anyone to ‘un-box’ an Apple computer, and not get a little bit excited.